Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (, ; born 18 April 1985) is a Thai professional snooker player.
He has won two ranking events, the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out and the 2026 World Open, and finished as runner-up in the 2019 World Open. He is regarded as one of the fastest snooker players on the World Tour, averaging less than 17 seconds per shot during the 2017âÂÂ18 and the 2019âÂÂ20 snooker seasons.. In winning his second ranking title at the 2026 World Open he defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 10âÂÂ7 in the final, from the match being level at 7âÂÂ7, Thepchaiya made breaks of 132, a maximum break of 147 (the seventh of his career) and a 131, three total clearences in a row to win the title 10âÂÂ7.
Un-Nooh first entered the professional tour for the 2009âÂÂ10 season by winning the 2008 IBSF World Snooker Championship. He dropped off the main tour after just one season.
He received the Thai nomination to compete on the snooker tour for the 2012âÂÂ13 season. As a new player on the tour, he needed to win four matches to reach the main stage of the ranking events. He lost in the third qualifying round in three of the first four ranking events of the season. In September, it was announced that his match at the Players Tour Championship â Event 3 against Steve Davis was under investigation due to unusual betting patterns. Un-Nooh moved from an 8/11 odds-on favourite to 11/8 against just before the match started, and went on to lose 0âÂÂ4. World Snooker released a statement in November to confirm that there was insufficient evidence, and that no further action would be taken against Un-Nooh. He reached the final qualifying round for the UK Championship and the World Open, but lost to Michael Holt and Ryan Day respectively. Un-Nooh played in nine of the ten Players Tour Championship Events during the season; his best results were three last-16 defeats in European Tour Events, and he finished 46th on the PTC Order of Merit. His season ended when he was beaten 3âÂÂ10 by Ben Woollaston in the third round of World Championship Qualifying, which saw him finish the year ranked world number 69.
Un-Nooh lost in the qualifying rounds for the first four ranking events of the 2013âÂÂ14 season, but then beat Gerard Greene 6âÂÂ5 to reach the International Championship in Chengdu, China. In his first appearance in the main draw of a ranking event he defeated Zhang Anda 6âÂÂ1, before losing by the same scoreline to Neil Robertson in the last 32. Un-Nooh played at the venue stage of four of the remaining six ranking events. He beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5âÂÂ4 in qualifying for the German Masters, with the reigning world champion playing high risk exhibition shots throughout the match, but Un-Nooh was whitewashed 5âÂÂ0 by Jack Lisowski in the first round. At the World Open, Un-Nooh led Stephen Maguire 3âÂÂ0, before the world number eight rallied to win four frames in a row. The match went into a deciding frame in which Un-Nooh made a break of sixty, only for Maguire to get a chance to win but then miss the final brown. He then reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time by beating Andrew Higginson 5âÂÂ1 and lost 5âÂÂ2 to Graeme Dott. Un-Nooh missed the final pink when on a 147 break during the match. Un-Nooh advanced to the last 32 of the China Open by whitewashing Ken Doherty 5âÂÂ0, before losing 5âÂÂ3 against Ding Junhui. His performances during the campaign saw him end it in the top 64 in the world rankings for the first time as he was placed 59th.
Un-Nooh qualified for the International Championship for the second year in a row, but was edged out 6âÂÂ5 by Fergal O'Brien in the first round. He also lost in a deciding frame in the first round of the UK Championship against Robin Hull, making breaks of 137 and 117 during the match. Un-Nooh won five games to reach the semi-finals of the Xuzhou Open where he beat Mark Williams 4âÂÂ1 to play in his first final in a professional event. He was defeated 4âÂÂ1 by Joe Perry, but he described Un-Nooh as an exceptional talent after the match.
Un-Nooh defeated defending champion Ding in the first round of the Indian Open, calling it his biggest win after the match. He also stated that he didn't feel he could win the title. He then whitewashed Luca Brecel 4âÂÂ0 and then recorded wins over Jamie Jones and Mark Davis to reach the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time. Un-Nooh compiled a trio of half-century breaks to race into a 3âÂÂ0 lead over Ricky Walden, but went on to lose 4âÂÂ3. His Asian final saw him finish fourth on their Order of Merit to make his debut in the Grand Final, where he was knocked out 4âÂÂ1 by Mark Williams in the first round. Un-Nooh's rise up the rankings continued as he ended the year 49th in the world.
Un-Nooh scored his first professional win at the 2015 Six-red World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. He beat world champion Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump en route to a final with Liang Wenbo, which he won 8âÂÂ2 in frames. Un-Nooh missed the final black in attempting to make a maximum break in his 6âÂÂ2 loss to Neil Robertson at the UK Championship. He appeared on Channel 4 show TFI Friday a few days later to recreate the shot, and this time potted it. At the World Grand Prix, Un-Nooh eliminated Marco Fu 4âÂÂ3 and Mark Allen 4âÂÂ2 to reach the quarter-finals. He made breaks of 97, 84 and 74 to lead 3âÂÂ1, but Ding took the match 4âÂÂ3. Incredibly, in the final round of World Championship qualifying, Un-Nooh missed another 147 final black. He did make a 144 later on in the match, but his opponent Anthony McGill won 10âÂÂ7. Un Nooh increased his ranking by 16 places over the year to end it as the world number 33.
Un-Nooh knocked out world number one Mark Selby 5âÂÂ3 in the second round of the World Open, and then whitewashed Alan McManus 5âÂÂ0 and beat Anthony McGill 5âÂÂ2. In the semi-finals he suffered a 6âÂÂ1 loss to Ali Carter. In the third round of the Paul Hunter Classic against Kurt Maflin, Un-Nooh finally made his first professional 147 break, after twice missing the final black the previous season. It earned him ã40,000, and he won the match 4âÂÂ1 before then narrowly beating Mark Allen and David Grace both 4âÂÂ3, to reach the semi-finals of a ranking tournament for the second successive event. Un-Nooh lost 4âÂÂ2 against Tom Ford. He then failed to win a first-round match until the 2017 Welsh Open, in which he beat Ben Woollaston 4âÂÂ0 and then saw off Ryan Day 4âÂÂ1, before being defeated 4âÂÂ1 by Barry Hawkins. After a last 16 finish at the Gibraltar Open his season ended on a low note as he lost in the first round of qualifying for the World Championship with a 10âÂÂ9 defeat against Peter Lines.
At the invitational 2017 Six-red World Championship, Un-Nooh reached the final and was level at 2âÂÂ2 against Williams before losing 2âÂÂ8. His best ranking finish for the season was reaching the last 16 at the World Open, where he was eliminated 5âÂÂ1 by Kyren Wilson. He qualified for the World Championship for the second year running after recording victories over Alexander Ursenbacher (10âÂÂ8), Adam Stefanow (10âÂÂ4), and Alfie Burden (10âÂÂ8). Drawn against John Higgins in the first round, he recorded two century breaks but ultimately lost out 10âÂÂ7. He finished the season ranked 56th.
Un-Nooh's best showing in a ranking event for the first half of the 2018âÂÂ19 snooker season was at the Northern Ireland Open, where he defeated Robert Milkins 4âÂÂ0, Ross Muir 4âÂÂ0, Chris Totten 4âÂÂ1, and Robbie Williams 4âÂÂ0 before meeting Mark Selby in the quarter-finals where he lost 5âÂÂ3. Un-Nooh then secured his first ranking event title at the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out, beating Michael Holt with a break of 74. This came after he made the highest break in the tournament's history, 139, in the semi-finals to beat Jamie Clarke. He secured a ã32,000 prize and became the second player from Thailand to win a ranking event. He qualified for the World Championship, recording victories over Johnathan Bagley, Mark Joyce and Joe O'Connor. He was drawn against Trump in the first round, and lost 10âÂÂ9, having been 6âÂÂ3 up and having a chance to win in the deciding frame.
In the first half of the 2019âÂÂ20 snooker season, Un-Nooh's best performances in ranking events were last 16 finishes at the Riga Masters and English Open, where he was defeated by Kurt Maflin and Ricky Walden respectively. He also added another title by winning the non-ranking Haining Open, defeating Li Hang 5âÂÂ3 in the final. Just one week later at the World Open, Un-Nooh recorded victories over Zhang Yang, Craig Steadman, Sunny Akani, David Gilbert and Kyren Wilson to reach his second ranking final. Facing Trump, he fell 7âÂÂ1 behind including conceding a frame after three fouls, but rallied to 8âÂÂ5 before Trump took the remaining two frames. He picked up ã75,000 for reaching the final which is his highest single-event prize to date. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open where he lost out 5âÂÂ3 to Jack Lisowski, the European Masters where he lost 5âÂÂ1 to Neil Robertson, and the Gibraltar Open where he lost 4âÂÂ0 to Kyren Wilson. For the 2020 World Snooker Championship delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he came through qualifying for the third year in a row with victories over Dominic Dale and Liam Highfield, and was drawn against O'Sullivan in the first round. In a match played behind closed doors, he was defeated 10âÂÂ1 in a fastest ever best-of-19 match at the Crucible, which lasted 108 minutes.
In a season largely played behind closed doors in Milton Keynes, Un-Nooh's best ranking finishes were last 16 appearances at the Northern Ireland Open, Shoot Out and Gibraltar Open. His performances from the previous season were enough to propel him into the top 16 in the rankings for the first time by October, and would ensure he would make a first appearance at the Masters. Drawn against reigning champion Bingham, he slipped to 5âÂÂ1 behind but rallied to 5âÂÂ4, before Bingham won the tenth frame and the match 6âÂÂ4. His season ended with a 6âÂÂ5 defeat to Igor Figueiredo in the first round of qualifying for the World Championship.
Starting the season ranked 19th, Un-Nooh endured a poor run of form through most of the 2021âÂÂ22 snooker season, with his best showing by March being a last 32 appearance at the English Open. Despite losing to Fan Zhengyi in qualifying for the German Masters, he made the third maximum break of his career during the match. At the Turkish Masters, he was under pressure for ranking points and defeated local wildcard Ismail Turker, Stephen Maguire and Jordan Brown before losing in the last 16 to Matthew Selt but gaining some much needed points. He then entered qualifying for the World Championship with relegation from the tour a possibility. He defeated Andrew Pagett (6âÂÂ4), Jak Jones (6âÂÂ5), and recorded a first ever victory over Selt (10âÂÂ7) to save his tour card and advance to the Crucible. Un-Nooh lost to Higgins 10âÂÂ7 in the first round proper.
Un-Nooh's best ranking performance of the 2022âÂÂ23 season came in the Scottish Open where he reached the semi-finals, recording victories against Mark Allen and Judd Trump before losing to Gary Wilson. His only other notable performance of the season came in the Six-red World Championship where he reached the final, losing 8âÂÂ6 to Ding Junhui. He made the fourth maximum break of his career at the WST Classic against Xu Si.
In the 2023âÂÂ24 season, his best ranking performances were reaching the last 16 of the International Championship, where he lost 6âÂÂ5 to Barry Hawkins, and the German Masters, where he lost 5âÂÂ2 to Judd Trump.
He also did not progress past the last 16 during the 2024âÂÂ25 season, which he reached at the British Open, losing 4âÂÂ3 to Mark Selby.
At the 2026 World Open, Un-Nooh defeated Trump in the semi-finals to set up a meeting with O'Sullivan. In the final, Un-Nooh fell 04 behind before winning six consecutive frames. O'Sullivan won the next three but Un-Nooh secured a 107 victory after making breaks of 132, 147 (maximum break) and 131 in the final three frames.
Un-Nooh is noted for his rapid playing style, and ability to win frames and matches quickly with explosive speed and heavy scoring, while his playing style has varyingly been described as "scary", but also "frustrating" due to his over-emphasis on attacking play which can make him vulnerable in safety exchanges or scrappy frames.
He is also notably only the second player (after Jamie Cope) to achieve a 155 break in a witnessed frame and the first to achieve it on camera after compiling one during a practice match against Hossein Vafaei.